Tunisia gains independence from France | South African History Online South African History Online Home » Tunisia gains independence from France Tunisia gains independence from France Tunisia FlagTunisia Flag. Source: Tuesday, 20 March 1956 On 20 March 1956, Tunisia gained its independence from France after two years of negotiations between the French and the Neo-Destour (“New Constitution”) party, which was backed by the trade unions. Tunisia, located below the Mediterranean ocean became a constitutional monarchy with the Bey of Tunis, Muhammad VIII al-Amin Bey, as king. In 1957, Habib Bourguiba the country’s Prime Minister, abolished the monarchy and declared the Republic of Tunisia. In 1861, Tunisia became the first country in the Arab world to adopt a constitution. However, less than 10 years later political instability in the country forced Tunisia to declare itself bankrupt. Subsequently, Tunisia’s economy became the liability of a group of British, French and Italian financial commissioners.

References: • Arcli ‘Tunisia’ , From:Acrli[online], Available at [Accessed: 21 February 2012] HISTORY OF TUNISIA HISTORY OF TUNISIA Enjoy the Famous Daily The Barbary coast: 16th - 20th century With the decline of the local Berber dynasties in the 15th and 16th centuries, the valuable coastal strip of north Africa (known because of the Berbers as the Barbary coast) attracts the attention of the two most powerful Mediterranean states of the time - Spain in the west, Turkey in the east. The Spanish-Turkish rivalry lasts for much of the 16th century, but it is gradually won - in a somewhat unorthodox manner - by the Turks. Their successful device is to allow Turkish pirates, or corsairs, to establish themselves along the coast. The territories seized by the corsairs are then given a formal status as protectorates of the Ottoman empire. The first such pirate establishes himself on the coast of Algeria in 1512. Two others are firmly based in Libya by 1551.

Tunisia is briefly taken in 1534 by the most famous corsair of them all, Khair ed-Din (known to the Europeans as Barbarossa). Recovered for Spain in 1535, Tunisia is finally brought under Ottoman control in 1574. Piracy remains the chief purpose and main source of income of all these Turkish settlements along the Barbary coast. And the depredations of piracy, after three centuries, at last prompt French intervention in Algeria . This, at any rate, is stated by the French at the time to be the cause of their intervention. The reality is somewhat less glorious. Algiers is occupied by the French in 1830, but it is not until 1847 that the French conquest of Algeria is complete - after prolonged resistance from the Berber hinterland, which has never been effectively controlled by the Turks on the coast. It is in the European interest to police this entire troublesome Barbary region. Tunisia becomes a French protectorate in 1881, and Morocco (which has maintained a shaky independence, under its own local sultans, since the end of the Marinid dynasty ) follows in 1912.

Italy takes Libya from the Turks in 1912. The regions of the Barbary coast thus enter their last colonial phase before independence. Tunisia as a French Protectorate: 1881-1934 French control over Tunisia, achieved in 1881, brings to an end several decades of diplomatic jockeying between three colonials powers, France, Britain and Italy. All three are officially involved in the region from 1869. The local dynasty of beys (technically subordinate to the Turkish sultan but in practice independent) have in recent decades spent lavishly to modernize their country, using funds borrowed in Europe. The programme, accompanied by necessary attempts to increase taxes, creates profound local resentment. By 1869 it is clear that the province is bankrupt. France, Britain and Italy are placed jointly, by international agreement, in control of Tunisian finances. This arrangement is inevitably a platform on which three rival colonial powers jockey and trade for position. France and Britain stand together in 1871 when the Italians begin to press vigorous claims (justified in the sense that Italy has more investment and more nationals settled in Tunisia than either other contender).

By 1878 France and Britain come to a quiet agreement that the British will allow Tunisia to be a French sphere of influence in return for French acceptance of the recently established British presence in Cyprus. This still leaves the Italians as the chief claimants for a colonial presence in Tunisia, until the French make a pre-emptive strike in 1881. Using the pretext that some Tunisian tribesmen have strayed into the neighbouring French colony of Algeria, a French army of some 36,000 men is sent across the border. As they advance upon Tunis, the bey decides it will be prudent to come to terms. The 1881 treaty of Bardo (also known as Al Qasr as Sa'id) guarantees French protection for the bey's territory and dynasty, but it also limits his authority to internal affairs. All other aspects of Tunisian policy are henceforth to be dealt with by the French. This sudden lapse into colonial status brings many material benefits to Tunisia. But it provokes, through the following decades, a crescendo of resistance. The Young Tunisian Party is formed in 1907 to agitate for Tunisian autonomy.

In 1920 a more aggressive group calling itself Destour ('constitution') puts forward a demand for full independence. From 1922 Destour has the support of the bey. But the French, by a judicious blend of repression and concessions, ensure that there is little progress. By 1934 the younger nationalists are again impatient. They break away from Destour, calling themselves Neo-Destour. This event brings into prominence a politician destined to play the central role in the future relationship between France and Tunisia and then in the affairs of independent Tunisia. The secretary-general of the new party is Habib Bourguiba. Habib Bourguiba: 1934-1957 The Neo-Destour party is immediately banned by the French authorities. Its secretary-general, Bourguiba, spends about ten of the next twenty years in French prisons. But thanks to his organizational skills the French never come near to suppressing the movement itself. As members of the party executive are discovered and arrested, others are always trained and ready to take their place. World War II impinges in an improbable way on the Tunisian struggle for independence.

Bourguiba, held in a prison in Vichy France and then moved by the Germans to captivity in Rome, comes under great pressure from both Germany and Italy to align the Tunisian independence movement with the cause of the Axis powers. He resolutely refuses to do so, but is nevertheless allowed to return in March 1943 to German-occupied Tunisia. Two months later the allies successfully conclude the North Africa campaign, converging on Tunisia from east and west to clear out the Germans. Bourguiba is now able to make direct contact with the Free French, the faction likely to become the colonial power after the war. He puts to them a plan for Tunisia's gradual progress towards autonomy (gradualism, also known to Tunisians as 'Bourguibism', is a consistent characteristic of his political approach). But his proposals are given scant attention. The next ten years therefore see an escalation in the campaign for independence. There is another spell in prison for Bourguiba (1952-4), during which his followers increasingly turn to terrorism.

In June 1954 a socialist premier, Pierre Mendès-France, comes to power in Paris and introduces a new policy of partial French withdrawal from two of the nation's most troubled colonies, Tunisia and Indochina. The result, in April 1955, is an agreement for Tunisia's internal autonomy with only foreign affairs and defence remaining in French hands (in effect a return to the situation in 1881 ). Bourguiba makes a triumphal return to Tunisia and a Neo-Destour government is formed. Bourguiba refuses to accept his natural place at the head of the new Tunisian government until full independence is achived. But in keeping with his policy of gradualism, he continues to negotiate the next stage with the French government. In this he is greatly helped by the onset of a more serious French crisis in Algeria and by French acceptance, in November 1955, of independence for Morocco. The same is achieved for Tunisia in March 1956. Bourguiba now becomes prime minister of the new nation, which in spirit is more inclined to republicanism than monarchy. In July 1957 the constitutional role of the bey is abolished.

Bourguiba becomes head of state, as president, in addition to his role as premier. Independence: from1956 The policies of independent Tunisia are to a large extent the policies of Bourguiba himself. Overall this means a cautious and pragmatic approach which proves very successful. Relations with France remain on the whole good, in spite of a few periods of intense crisis. These include the bombing of a Tunisian village in 1958 by French planes (the French claiming the right to pursue Algerian rebels across the border); a brief and costly war in 1961, initiated by Bourguiba to end the agreed presence of a French garrison in the port of Bizerte; and the suspension of French aid in 1964-6 in response to Bourguiba's nationalizing of all land held by foreigners. Bourguiba is also skilful in maintaining good relations with other western powers, and for the most part Tunisia under his rule has a respected role in the Arab world - though his inclination to take a less hard line than others on the issue of Israel creates hostility.

At various times Tunis is host to the headquarters of the Arab League (moving from Cairo in 1979) and of the PLO (refugees from Beirut in 1982). Internally his attitude is equally pragmatic, with a policy of non-doctrinaire socialism. In the 1960s he takes for a while a more rigid line, of state control and agricultural cooperatives, but when these measures fail he rapidly returns to a more moderate approach. In 1975 the national assembly appoints Bourguiba president for life but by the late 1980s, when he has been head of state and chief executive for thirty years, he is becoming noticeably erratic in his conduct of affairs. In November 1987 his prime minister, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, removes him from office and takes his place as president. Democracy has not been part of Bourguiba's Tunisia. Brought to independence by a single party ( Neo-Destour ), it has remained a one-party state - though by 1987 the name of the single ruling party is the RCD (Constitutional Democratic Assembly).

Ben Ali holds elections, in 1989, soon after his assumption of power. Six opposition parties participate on this occasion, but they might as well have saved themselves the trouble. Ben Ali is elected president with 99% of the vote. His party, the RCD, wins all 141 seats in the national assembly. During the 1990s Tunisia makes satisfactory economic progress, but its international image is increasingly tarnished by civil rights abuses. A new electoral law, introduced before the 1994 elections, adds nineteen seats to the assembly - reserving them for candidates of opposition parties. But this token gesture does little to mask the reality of Tunisian politics. Ben Ali is the only presidential candidate in 1994 (winning this time 99.9% of the votes cast) and the RCD wins all 144 non-reserved seats. More significant, and the reason for international protests, is the arrest on flimsy charges of leaders of opposition factions, followed by long spells in prison. One of the main targets of government hostility is Nahda, an outlawed Islamic party.

Feared by the ruling elite as much as the FIS in Algeria, Nahda is part of the wider emergence of Islam as a renewed political force in the late 20th century. History of Decolonization and Independence in the 20th Century - The Map as History The Map as History Home The Map as History > Decolonization after 1945 Decolonization after 1945 The reasons why decolonization took place are many and complex, varying widely from one country to another. Three key elements played a major role in the process: colonized peoples' thirst for independence, the Second World War which demonstrated that colonial powers were no longer invulnerable, and a new focus on anti-colonialism in international arenas such as the United Nations. Colonial empires, colonial powers, British Empire, French Empire, Dutch Empire, decolonization of Africa, decolonization of Asia, Indian Independence, anti-colonialism, war of independence | Colonial world dominance in 1939 Before the Second World War broke out, a large proportion of the world population was living under the sovereignty of a colonial power, for the most part European. European domination in Africa was particularly impressive.

World War II undermines the colonial system Myths such as the invulnerability of colonial powers and white supremacy were seriously challenged by the outbreak of the Second World War. Accelerated decolonization after 1945 Following the Second World War, the colonial system was subject to growing unrest and many countries quickly acquired their independence. Clement Attlee, the Labour Prime Minister who replaced Winston Churchill in July 1945, soon realised that independence for India was inevitable, but disagreements among the Indian politicians made the negotiations very difficult. Independence for Burma, Ceylon and Malaysia Burma and Ceylon (later Sri Lanka) obtained their independence soon after India but, in Malaysia, the situation was more complex. Independence for the Indonesian Archipelago A direct consequence of Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies during the Second World War was the emergence of Indonesian nationalism. Nevertheless, at the end of the war, the Netherlands was opposed to independence. Independence for Indochina The Communist Party led by Ho Chi Minh took advantage of the Japanese occupation of Indochina during the Second World War to launch the Viet Minh Independence Movement.

The failure to create an Indochinese federation in 1946 as part of the French Union led to a long war of independence. Independence for Italy’s African colonies Independence for Italy’s African colonies (Ethiopia, Libya, Eritrea, Somalia) came as a direct consequence of Italy’s downfall during the Second World War. Decolonization of the United Kingdom’s territories in Africa In Africa, the United Kingdom launched the process of decolonization in the early 1950s. Some countries achieved independence peacefully. Others, however, became embroiled in inter-community rivalries or faced with opposition from the British colonial settlers. Decolonization of North Africa by France French North Africa covered three territories: the Protectorates of Morocco in the west and Tunisia in the East, with Algeria in the centre. Algeria was considered by France to be an extension of its national territory and only obtained its independence after a long drawn-out conflict lasting 8 years. Decolonization of French black Africa Independence in Africa was introduced in phases. Most of the French colonies in Black Africa became independent in 1960. Independence for Belgium’s African colonies The immense Belgian Congo was one of the richest colonies in Africa.

After bloody riots in 1959, the Belgian Government quickly yielded to demands for independence in 1960. Independence for Portugal’s African colonies Portuguese colonies in Africa gained their independence only after the “Carnation Revolution” which took place in Lisbon in April 1974. Independence for Spain’s African territories Spain had few colonies on the African continent. North of Morocco, Spanish Guinea and Western Sahara gained their independence from Spain during the period 1956 to 1975. Colonial empires, colonial powers, British Empire, French Empire, Dutch Empire, decolonization of Africa, decolonization of Asia, Indian Independence, anti-colonialism, war of independence Independence - Colonization of Morocco Independence Works Cited Morroco's Independence Beginning in the year of 1920, nationalism began to arise among the people of Morocco. While Morocco was under control of France and Spain, nationalist made several attempts to get independence for their country. The Rebellions made by the people of the Rif Mountains were ultimately unsuccessful. After defeating Abd-el-Krim, the French and Spanish were able to control the nationalists for a couple decades until independent movements began again.

In the year 1944, nationalists formed an independence party called the Istiqlals, which challenged colonialism. The Istiqlals issues a manifesto, which was a public declaration of their intentions and opinions. In response, the French, who were unhappy with the Istiqlal Party, arrested all of the leaders of the group and accused them of working with the Germans. Also, the French fired on people gathered in Fez. Later, in December of 1952 there were riots in the city, Casablanca. The riots caused the resident general to ban the Istiqlal and the Moroccan Communist Party. A year later, the French made a big mistake by exiling Sultan Mohammed V to Madagascar. In the Sultan's place Mohammed Ben Aarafa took over. Mohammed Ben Aarafa was not well-liked by the Moroccans. Nationalists who liked Mohammed V and saw him as a religious leader were angered by France's actions. This led to revolts and opposition from the Moroccan citizens if the form of terrorist acts and armed movements against the French. Finally, in 1955 the French government exploded in Morocco.

The Sultan was able to return from his exile on November 16, 1955. Then, in 1956, the French left Morocco and Morocco became independent (HISTORY OF MOROCCO, Historyworld.net; Independence Movements: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Madagascar to 1947, Fsmitha.com; Morocco, Encyclopedia Britannica Online). It was on March 2, 1956 that Morocco was able to gain its independence from the French Protectorate. After the French left Morocco, the Spanish did the same. In April, the region of Morocco under the Spanish protectorate was freed. Also, Tangier, which was given international status, became apart of Morocco again in October. After 44 years of colonization Morocco was finally an independent country again (History of Morocco to the Present Day, Moroccansands.com). Although Morocco gained its independence in 1956, Spain still colonizes two parts of Morocco to this day. The cities of Ceuta and Melilla and a small chain of islands of the coast in the Atlantic ocean are still under the control of Spain.

The Spanish had taken over Melilla in 1497 and got Ceuta in 1580. When Spain gave up the protectorate in Morocco, they did not give up these parts of Morocco. Ceuta and Melilla are two cities in dispute between Spain and Morocco. Moroccans consider the cities to be apart of Morocco while the Spanish say that it is Spain's property and Spanish people already settled there before the Moroccans did ("Ceuta and Melilla: The Last European Colonies in Africa." Examiner.com). Mohammed V Mohammad V was born on August 10, 1909. He was the Sultan of Morocco while it was a protectorate, from 1927 to 1957. Mohammed was an ally to the Istiqlals, who were a group that wanted independence. Mohammed was also a nationalist. In the year 1953, he was banned from Morocco and forced to go to Madagascar. Mohammad fought very hard to get the country back in his hands. With the support of other Moroccans, the French allowed Mohammed to return to Morocco. Not long after his return, Morocco was able to get its independence.

Once Morocco got its independence, Mohammed V became king. He ruled as king for about 5 years from 1957 to 1961. As king, Mohammed V helped change Morocco into a constitutional monarchy. King Mohammed V died on February 26, 1961 (Muhammad V (sultan of Morocco), Encyclopedia Britannica Online; HISTORY OF MOROCCO, Historyworld.net). Bibliography Independence achieved 1 August 1960. Former name: Dahomey (renamed 30 November 1975). Botswana (Republic of Botswana) Independence achieved 30 September 1966. Former name: British Protectorate of Bechuanaland (name changed with independence in 1966). Burkina Faso (Republic of Burkina Faso) Independence achieved 5 August 1960. Former name: Republic of Upper Volta (renamed in 1984). Burundi (Republic of Burundi) Independence achieved 1 July 1962. Former name: Urundi (part of Ruaunda-Urundi, renamed with independence in 1962).

Cameroon (Republic of Cameroon) Independence achieved 1 January 1960 for East Cameroon (former French colony). Formed the Federal Republic (1 October 1961) when Southern (west) Cameroon (former British colony) voted in a U.N. supervised election (11 February 1961) to be attached to the former French Cameroon. Officially became United Republic of Cameroon on 2 June 1972, and renamed Republic of Cameroon in 1984. Central African Republic Independence achieved 13 August 1960. Former name: Oubangui-Chari (renamed 1 December 1958). Chad (Republic of Chad) Independence achieved 11 August 1960. Congo (People's Republic of the Congo) Independence achieved 15 August 1960. Former names: Middle Congo (part of French Equatorial Africa), Congo-Brazzaville. Côte d'Ivoire (Republic of Côte d'Ivoire) Independence achieved 7 August 1960.

Formerly refered to by the equivalent translation of the name into different languages, such as "Ivory Coast" in English. In 1986, the government declared that all countries should use the French name "Côte d'Ivoire". Democratic Republic of the Congo Independence achieved June 1960. 17 May 1997 the former regime (Zaire) of Marshal Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngendu Banga was toppled and the present Democratic Republic of the Congo was established in its place. Former names: Congo Free State 1855-1908, Belgian Congo, 1908-1960, Democratic Republic of the Congo or Congo-Leopoldville, 1960-1966, Congo-Kinshasa 1966-1971, Zaire 1971-1997. Djibouti (Republic of Djibouti) Independence achieved 27 June 1997. Former names: French Somaliland until 1967, French territory of the Afars and Issas until independence.

Egypt (Arab Republic of Egypt) Egypt has been seat of civilization since ancient times, however recent history has seen conquest by the Ottoman Empire in 1517, Napoleon Bonaparte's France in 1798, and finally by Britain in 1882. Modern independence was achieved on 28 February 1922 by British declaration. Equatorial Guinea (Republic of Equatorial Guinea) Independence achieved 12 October 1968. Former name: Spanish Guinea (renamed with independence). Eritrea (State of Eritrea) Independence achieved 24 May 1993. Ethiopia (Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia) Ethiopia has enjoyed independence from ancient times and has resisted attempts by other nations at colonization. Former name: Abyssinia. Gabon (Republic of Gabon) Independence achieved 17 August 1960. The Gambia (Republic of the Gambia) Independence achieved 18 February 1965. Ghana (Republic of Ghana) Independence achieved 6 March 1957. Former name: Gold Coast (renamed with independence). Guinea (Republic of Guinea) Independence achieved 2 October 1958.

Guinea-Bissau (Republic of Guinea-Bissau) Independence achieved 24 September 1973. Former name Portuguese Guinea (renamed with independence). Kenya (Republic of Kenya) Independence achieved 12 December 1963. Lesotho (Kingdom of Lesotho) Independence achieved 4 October 1966. Former name: Basutoland. Liberia (Republic of Liberia) Independence achieved 26 July 1847. Liberia was established by Black American colonists sent by the American Colonisation Society in a controversial move to repatriate freed American slaves to Africa. After Ethiopia, it is the oldest of the modern independent African nations. Libya (Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya) Independence achieved 24 December 1951. Madagascar (Democratic Republic of Madagascar) Independence achieved 26 June 1960. Malawi (Republic of Malawi) Independence achieved 6 July 1964. Former name: Nyasaland. Mali (Republic of Mali) Independence achieved 22 September 1960. Former name: Soudan.

Mauritania (Islamic Republic of Mauritania) Independence achieved 28 November 1960. Morocco (Kingdom of Morocco) Independence achieved 2 March 1956. Mozambique (Republic of Mozambique) Independence achieved 25 June 1975. Former name: Portuguese East Africa. Namibia (Republic of Namibia) Independence achieved 21 March 1990. Former name South West Africa. Niger (Republic of Niger) Independence achieved 3 August 1960. Nigeria (Federal Republic of Nigeria) Independence achieved 1 October 1960. Rwanda (Republic of Rwanda) Independence achieved 1 July 1962. Former name Ruanda (part of Belgian administered territory of Ruanda-Urundi under League of Nations mandate 1919-1946, and U.N. Trusteeship 1946-1962). Senegal (Republic of Senegal) Independence achieved 20 August 1960. Sierra Leone (Republic of Sierra Leone) Independence achieved 27 April 1961.

Somalia (Somali Democratic Republic) Independence achieved 1 July 1960. South Africa (Republic of South Africa) Independence achieved 11 December 1931. The dismantling of apartheid affectively began in 1991 with the proposal to repeal of Lands Acts of 1913 and 1936, and the Group Areas act of 1966 by then President F.W. De Klerk. By 27 April 1994 a Majority Rule Constitution was adopted, and on 10 May 1994 anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela was sworn in as the President of South Africa bringing an end to apartheid in South Africa. Sudan (Democratic Republic of the Sudan) Independence achieved 1 January 1956. Swaziland (Kingdom of Swaziland) Independence achieved 6 September 1968. Tanzania (United Republic of Tanzania) Tanganyika achieved independence on 9 December 1961. Zanzibar Achieved independence on 10 December 1963.

The United Republic was formed on 27 April 1964, and the name Tanzania was adopted on 29 October 1964. Togo (Republic of Togo) Independence achieved 27 April 1960. Former name Togoland. Tunisia (Republic of Tunisia) Independence achieved 20 March 1956. Uganda (Republic of Uganda) Independence achieved 9 October 1962. Western Sahara (Saharwi Arab Democratic Republic) When Spain withdrew from Western Sahara (then known as Spanish Sahara or Rio de Oro) in 1976 both Morocco and Mauritania moved to annex the territory. Mauritania withdrew in August 1979, and Western Sahara was absorbed by Morocco. However a political front called the Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el-Hamra and Rio de Oro (POLISARIO) continued to struggle against foreign domination against Morocco and formed the Saharwi Arab Democratic Republic as a government in exile on 4 March 1976 which was recognized in 1984 by the Organisation for African Unity (OAU) leading Morocco to withdraw its membership from the OAU.

In May 1991, Morocco and the Polisario Front ended fighting as a part of a U.N. sponsored peace settlement. The future of Saharwi is still to be decided as of this writing (9 September 1998). Zambia (Republic of Zambia) Independence achieved 24 October 1964. Former name: Northern Rhodesia. Zimbabwe (Republic of Zimbabwe) Independence achieved 18 April 1980. Former names: Rhodesia, Southern Rhodesia. Not Shown on the Map: Cape Verde (Republic of Cape Verde) Independence achieved 5July 1975. Comoros Islands (Federal Islamic Republic of the Comoros) Independence achieved 6 July 1975 (formally recognized by France (colonial regime) 1 January 1976). Mauritius (Republic of Mauritius) Independence achieved 12 March 1968. Reunion Administered by the French Overseas Department since 19 March 1946. French colony since 1642.

São Tomé and Príncipe (Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe) Independence achieved 12 July 1975. Seychelles (Republic of Seychelles) Independence achieved 29 June 1976. Bibliography Some different routes to independence in Africa Routes to Independence in Africa Four Examples This Web page contains a brief overview of the different paths to independence in Africa, plus detailed information about four case studies: Algeria , Egypt , Gold Coast , and the Congo . Return to African History Web Page OVERVIEW The first colonies to become independent were located in North Africa. They included Libya in 1949 (granted by the UN), Egypt (and Sudan) in 1952, Morocco and Tunisia in 1956, and Algeria in 1962. Only Algeria had a substantial European settler population, and only there did independence require a war. In West Africa, the independence of AOF and AEF provided examples of one of the basic problems facing African independence leaders: what size should the independent African state be? Should it be based on ethnic boundaries, geographic boundaries, colonial boundaries, territorial boundaries or a new relationship within the existing empire?

The countries in East Africa fall into two categories: those that were British colonies and all of the rest. The British colonies form a coherent group because there were many plans to combine them into an East African Federation at independence. Independence in southern Africa was substantially different from that of other regions thanks to the presence of large white settler populations in Southern Rhodesia and South Africa, and the presence of enormous mineral wealth in the Katanga region of the Belgian Congo. Of all the areas in Africa that were under European rule, this was the area that Europeans wanted least to give up. Consequently, independence struggles were long, drawn-out affairs. Example 1: Algeria, a settler colony Words: Algiers, Sétif, Soumman, Ouarsenis, Ferhat Abbas, FLN In the constitution of the 1946 Fourth Republic, Algeria was considered to be a département of France, with the same legal status as the Vaucluse or Upper Alsace, and not just a colony. Roughly one million people of French ancestry lived in Algeria, among a population of about ten million Arabs, Berbers, M'zabs, Khabylie, etc.

The two groups were divided by land ownership, religion, legal system and language. Because France had envisioned Algeria as a permanent part of the French nation, they invested much more in education and infrastructure, and there was a higher percentage of westernized Algerian elites than in sub-Saharan French Africa. They embraced a range of opinions towards independence, with the majority favoring a peaceful route to independence. In February 1943 (a year before the Brazzaville conference), a pharmacist from Sétif named Ferhat Abbas drafted a "Manifesto," signed by 55 other Moslem politicians, that called for an end to colonial rule. After French military rule was established under Generals De Gaulle and Catroux on 1 June 1943, the French authorities rejected anything other than "French Algeria." On 14 March 1944, Ferhat Abbas formed the "Friends of the Manifesto and of Liberty" with support by Messali Hadj and the Muslim Ulema. In September, they founded an opposition newspaper, "Egalité," and campaigned openly for an end to colonialism, the creation of a federation of independent Algeria and France, and the end to special privileges held by white settlers.

On 8 May 1945, during the French celebration of VE day in Sétif, an Algerian procession carried nationalist flags. French police tried to stop them, then opened fire, and a riot broke out. According to official figures, 22 died and 48 were wounded. The news spread to other towns and during the next several days, the death totals ranged from 1500 (official) to 15,000 (nationalist). After this, political opponents of the French became increasingly radical, and began to prepare a revolution. The insurrection began in 1954 in the Ouarsenis Mountains southeast of Algiers, but quickly spread to urban centers. They used terrorist attacks against French civilians and moderate Algerians. Representatives of various rebel groups met at Soummam to form the National Council of the Algerian Revolution (CNRA) on 20 August 1956.

The Soummam Congress took the existing paper organization (soldiers, partisans, guerillas, supporters, sympathizers) and created military ranks, six administrative districts (wilayas) and divided participants into three categories, mujahidin (combatants), musabilin (partisans), or fidayin (terrorists). The Soummam Congress also established a military command structure for the Army of National Liberation (ALN). The ALN was intended to coordinate the revolutionary activities of numerous small, armed bands that developed during the previous two years. The ALN was controlled by the military department of the Executive Coordinating Committee of the CNRA. The French government responded to the revolt with force and destroyed the main urban cells of the ALN by 1958. However, Morocco and Tunisia became independent in the interim, and they became safe havens and conduits for supplies to ALN forces in the rural areas. Algerians-in-exile created a provisional government in Tunis in September 1958, called the Front pour la Libération Nationale (FLN). In 1958, public opinion in France became so divided over Algeria that there was an attempt by army generals to overthrow the government.

Instead, Charles De Gaulle agreed to take charge and called for a new constitution. The result was the Fifth Republic which, among other things, redefined the relationship between France and the African colonies. A power struggle ensued between the ALN (inside Algeria) and the FLN (outside Algeria, based in Tunis and Oujda). The constitution of the FLN created a ministry to supervise military activity. At the December 1959 CNRA Congress in Tripoli, the external military command (based in Ghardimaou, Tunisia and Oujda, Morocco) was combined under a single general staff headed by Houari Boumedienne, the Algerian military commander in Tunis. In January 1960, the military command was placed under an Interministerial War Committee that included Belqasim Karim, plus Abdelhafid Boussouf and Lakhdar Bentobbal. Although the Soummam Congress affirmed the primacy of the interior and the military over the exterior and the political, the fortunes of war made that unrealistic.

As the French countermeasures grew effective by 1958, effective control of the revolution passed to the exterior forces, where the general staff concentrated on building a conventional army for the invasion of Algeria. Inside the country, there was a tendency for authority to fragment. By the end of the war, there were roughly 35,000 soldiers in the exterior army (25,000 in Tunisia and 10,000 in Morocco), 15,000 mujahidin in Algeria and between 50,000-100,000 musabilin and fidayin inside Algeria, out of a total population of about 11 million. The FLN military officers became the rulers of independent Algeria in 1962. Words: ulema, Faruk, Wafd, Nahas Pasha, Mohammed Naguib, Gamal Abdel Nasser, United Arab Republic Timeline 1942 (Oct) After the Prime Minister Aly Maher tried to maintain Egyptian neutrality, the British forced King Faruk to call new elections, which were won by the WAFD party. Nahas Pasha became the Prime Minister.

1944 (Oct) The British withdrew support from the Nahas Pasha government. New elections showed the political splits within Egyptian society between military officers, the Ulema, and the nationalists. 1945 Nasser has Naguib arrested. 1956 (July) Suez crisis after Egypt recognizes Communist China receives envoy from Russia, and US halts funding for the Aswan High Dam. Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal. UN forbade Anglo-French invasion, so they tried to get Israel to do it for them. Result: UN peacekeeping force in the Sinai. 1958 Nasser forms United Arab Republic with Yemen and Syria. Egyptian military officers who attended the military academy at Abbasieh, Egypt, in 1938 became co-conspirators at independence. One of them, Gamal Abdul Nasser, was posted to Khartoum in the Sudan in 1939-1942. At the time, Egyptian nationalists considered the Sudan to be a part of "Greater Egypt" while most collaborating Egyptians viewed the Sudan as a desolate place where one was transferred as punishment (the prime posts were located in Alexandria and Cairo).

Between 1940 and 1943, Egypt became a WWII battlefield. The Egyptian Prime Minister, Aly Maher, tried to keep Egypt neutral, but British occupation of the Suez Canal and other strategic points made that impossible. In February 1942, the British government forced King Faruk (a nephew of Tewfik) to accept a new prime minister and government, known as the Wafd, under Nahas Pasha. As a result, King Faruk lost considerable prestige among the Egyptian people, and he offered only weak opposition to Egyptian nationalists once the war was over. On 8 October 1944, the Nahas Pasha government (Wafd) fell after the British government withdrew its support. King Faruk recalled Aly Maher to form a new government. Faruk ultimately depended on the British to support his throne, but he tried to reduce internal unrest by making shifting alliances with the three factions in Egyptian internal politics: the Muslem ulema, nationalist political parties, and army officers in Egypt. On 22 March 1945, only two weeks after WWII ended in Europe, Egypt joined the Arab League to foster pan-Arab ties and end European colonial domination.

The Arab League had British support, at least at first, because it represented a movement towards independence by "known quantities" that was preferable (to the British) to the unknown quantities of Marxism and Muslim fundamentalism. Violence: Riots broke out in Cairo in March 1947 and the British decided to withdraw all of their troops from the main cities, leaving garrisons only in the Canal Zone. Then the 1948 withdrawal of the British from Palestine ignited the first Arab-Israeli War, leading King Faruk to declare martial law and polarizing Egyptian politics into pro-British and anti-British positions. The Arab defeat increased resentment within the Egyptian military and the fundamentalist clergy. The continuation of martial law increased resentment against Faruk's government. Consequences of increasing unrest in Egypt: Facing mounting pressure from his opponents, Faruk ignored a 1951 UN Resolution that required Egypt to open the Suez Canal to Israeli vessels as part of the freedom of the seas. (Later, Nasser ignored the UN Resolution in 1954.) Even earlier, in 1950, Faruk accepted the need for an election to bolster support for his rule.

The Wafd received more than 2/3 of the votes, but still faced enormous opposition from within and from outside the government, particularly from a group known as the Muslim Brotherhood. In an attempt to increase its popularity, the Parliament repealed the treaties binding the Sudan to Egypt in 1951, and tried to order the British to withdraw from the Canal Zone. Violent riots and sabotage against the British followed. The first Egyptian Revolution: On January 25, 1952, a day which became known as Black Saturday to Egyptians, British forces disarmed an Egyptian police battalion at Ismailia (Suez), and riots broke out in Egypt's major cities, leading to a major fire in Cairo on the following day. Faruk reorganized the government five times in the next six months, but was unable to satisfy his opponents. Finally, on July 22, 1952, a group of military officers calling themselves the "Free Officers" overthrew the Faruk monarchy. They selected an older officer, General Mohammed Naguib (alternate spelling = Neguib), as both president and prime minister of the new government in September 1952. The Naguib government ruled Egypt for slightly more than two years.

In September 1952, they passed a Land Reform Act that limited land holdings to 208 acres (but allowed a landowners to give up to 100 acres to each of two children, and compensated the landowners with govenrment bonds for the loss of any other land. They abolished the Egyptian monarchy in June 1953. The British government accepted the change in government and even tried to strengthen Naguib's position by signing an agreement in 1953 that opened the way for the independence of the Sudan. However, the continued British presence in Egypt was unacceptable to Egyptian nationalists and to many military officers. In February 1954, Naguib resigned to protest the influence wielded by his deputy prime minister, Nasser. This ove split the army, and Nasser backed down, so Naguib resumed his offices. But a month later, with elections already scheduled for June 1954, Nasser announced that the revolutionary council of officers would disband after the election, and would present no candidates of its own.

In other words, Nasser announced that the revolution was over and that Egyptians would have to follow Naguib's leead in choosing a new government from among the political factions-- Muslim fundamentalists, Marxists, and old landowners. The Egyptian reaction to the "end of the revolution" was negative. Transport workers went on strike, the navy threatened to mutiny, and the nationalist press condemned the "sell- out" of thee revolution. The Revolutionary Council issued a statement that it would heed the will of the Egyptian people and remain intact. Anyone who had supported the disbanding of the revolutionary council was arrested and deprived of the right to engage in further political activity. Meanwhile, Nasser reached an agreement with the British on October 19, 1954, wherein the British pledged to remove all of their forces from Egyptian soil within 20 months (by June 1956) and accepted a period of seven years during which they could return if they felt that their interests were threatened. By November 14, 1954, Nasser and the other members of the Revolutionary Council felt strong enough to remove Naguib and place him under house arrest.

Independent Egypt under Nasser: One of Prime Minister Nasser's first foreign policy moves was to sign an agreement with Czechoslovakia in 1955, exchanging Egyptian cotton for arms. Meanwhile, Nasser sought Western funding for the Aswan High Dam, which would provide water for an increase in the amount of arable land for Egypt's growing population. The 1956 Suez Crisis began when the USA voted to withhold funding for the Aswan Dam on 15 July 1956. Britain and the World Bank followed suit. This followed Egyptian recognition of China in May 1956, and a visit from a Russian envoy in June 1956. On 26 July 1956, Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal and Franco-British stockholders protested to their governments. The British and French entered into negotations while secretly preparing to invade the Canal Zone, but were deterred by the opposition of the USSR and USA in the UN Security Council.

Instead, they backed an Israeli assault on the Canal that began on 29 October 1956 and ended with a Franco-British proposal for both sides to withdraw so that a "peace-keeping force" could occupy a 20-mile buffer strip based along the Canal. Instead, a UN peacekeeping force occupied the Zone. Nasser continued to promote Arab independence and in 1958, Nasser formed the United Arab Republic of Egypt, Yemen and Syria. That lasted until 1961, when the Baath Revolution in Syria led to Syria's withdrawal. Example 3: Gold Coast, a non-settler colony Words: Kwame Nkrumah, Convention People's Party, Accra, Sekondi-Takoradi The Gold Coast progressed gradually towards independence with a series of constitutional revisions that granted increasing local authority. The British claimed that this was done in recognition of the Ghanaians increasing ability to rule themselves, while Kwame Nkrumah claimed that it was the result of increasing pressure brought to bear on the British by the Convention People's Party (CPP).

Prior to independence, the Gold Coast was divided socially between the more traditional, Muslim, agrarian Northern Territories (Tamale, Mali cattle & fish trade, kola), and the wealthier central region (Asante, Kumasi, gold) and the more industrialized coastal region (Accra, Sekondi-Takoradi, railroads). In the coastal towns of Accra and Sekondi- Takoradi, African labor unions controlled the ports and railroads of the colony. Immediately after WWII, under the governorship of Sir Gerald Creasy (1948-1949), the British encouraged local lawyers and traditional elites to run for seats in the Gold Coast Legislative Council, an advisory body to the colonial governor. However, the Gold Coast had changed as a result of the war, and pre-war methods of indirect rule were no longer successful. Wartime inflation had hurt the westernized sector, which was larger in the Gold Coast (thanks to mining) than elsewhere in West Africa. 30,000 Ghanaians had served with the British in Burma, fighting against the Japanese (veterans).

At the end of February 1948, the "Christianborg riots" broke out in Accra after a British policeman fired on an African veteran's protest march. Trading company stores were looted (United Africa Company & Union Trading Company), foreigners assaulted, and 29 Africans killed, with 237 wounded. Strikes and demonstrations by youth and social organizations followed. Kwame Nkrumah (1908-1972) was the main leader. He returned to the Gold Coast in December 1947 after twelve years in the USA where he received degrees in education, sociology and theology at Lincoln University and University of Pennsylvania. While in the USA, he supported himself with odd jobs (fish market, soap factory) and got involved in a variety of political movements. He preached in an African Baptist Church in Philadelphia and led a pan-African student movement at UPenn, the African Students Association. (He must have also observed American race relations firsthand.) Nkrumah went to London in 1945 and attended the 6th Pan-African Congress.

There, he encountered the political themes that became the basis for his program: positive action, anti-communism, anti-imperialism, non-alignment. Nkrumah went to the Gold Coast in 1948 in response to an invitation to become the Secretary-General of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC), an organization of wealthy lawyers and traders who abstained from the February 1948 riots. He left that group after it supported the British Coussey committee's recommendations for constitutional reform following the February 1948 riots, and began to seek support from the large number of poorer, but educated commoners, who were found mostly in the coastal cities. Nkrumah formed his own party, the Convention People's Party (CPP) on June 12, 1949 in Accra, at the largest popular assembly in Ghana's history (60,000).

Its plans differed from those of the UGCC mainly in the timing of independence, "shortest possible time" versus "now." The CPP denounced the constitutional reforms suggested by the Coussey Committee and urged the population to prepare for "positive action." On January 6, 1950, the Gold Coast Trade Unions Council declared a general strike. The government arrested all of the union and CPP leaders on January 21, 1950. The strike failed and Nkrumah served a year in jail, but the CPP dominated local elections two months later. The British assisted Nkrumah to run for colonial office while he was still in prison, and in the 1951 election, the CCP won a majority and formed a legislative council under the Coussey constitution. Nkrumah won almost all the votes in Accra Central.

Registered Voters in Ghana, by Region, 1951 Region 661,458 40.5 Although the CPP controlled the colonial legislature, the British controlled economic affairs through the Cocoa Marketing Board, established in 1948, and the oligarchy of 13 British companies, led by the UAC (Unilever), that controlled Ghana's export trade. They left only the smallest sectors of trade to Ghanaian businessmen, and transportation of the cocoa crop to the coast to Ghanaian transport entrepreneurs. Control over the marketing board became the central issue in colonial politics. Africans opposed to the CPP organized the Ghana Congress Party (wealthy cocoa planters) and the National Liberation Front (NLM, based in Asanti), both of which opposed the CPP's use of the marketing board to finance other endeavors with cocoa profits (world prices soared in the 1950s). The other parties claimed that the CPP was communist while the CPP charged the other parties with representing tribal interests at the expense of national unity. The CPP narrowly won the 1956 election. Less than a month later, the Legislative Assembly called for political independence.

On March 4, 1957, Britain granted independence to the Gold Coast, following riots by groups opposed to the CPP. For the next year, the CPP passed laws that strengthened the state in order to suppress its political opposition. Ghana's independence, the first in sub-Saharan Africa, inspired Africans throughout the continent. Residents of western Togo, the former German colony (by then, a UN Mandate under French control) voted to join the Gold Coast in 1957. On March 13, 1966, Nkrumah was overthrown by an army coup. Example 4: The Belgian Congo, a colony unprepared Words: Patrice Lumumba, Mouvement National Congolais, Joseph Mobutu, Katanga, Leopoldville, Stanleyville The Belgium government (and public) received all of its information about African public opinion from the big Belgian companies (Union Minière du Haut Katanga, for example) and missionaries, and neither group was particularly perceptive. Despite all the turmoil of the 1930s and 1940s, it was not until 1954 that a reform government allowed a few Congolese to study in Belgium.

Belgium made almost no plans for independence in the Congo. In 1956, only 120 Congolese held the carte d'immatriculation out of a population of 13 million, and there were only thirty university students from the Belgian African colonies (Congo, Rwanda, Burundi). There was no African soldier with a rank higher than sergeant. The formation of the French Fifth Republic in 1958, the independence of Guinea, and political activity in other French colonies like Congo-Brazzaville stimulated political activity in the Belgian Congo. In addition, members of the Congolese elite attended the 1958 World's Fair in Brussels as part of the Belgian delegation, where they met other Africans, including some from independent countries. A civil servant from Stanleyville named Patrice Lumumba formed the first nationalist political party, the Mouvement National Congolais (MNC), in 1958. He faced opposition from parties organized along regional or ethnic lines, including the largest, ethnic group, the Association pour la Sauvegarde de la Culture et des Intérêts des Bakongo (ABAKO).

Riots in Leopoldville in January 1959 and October 1959 led to a hasty decision by the Belgian government to grant independence on June 30, 1960. Patrice Lumumba won an election that took place only one week before independence, and tried to form the first government. The Force Publique rebelled against their officers on July 8, 1960, killing some and inciting thousands of Europeans to flee the Congo. The next day, Katanga province seceded from the Congo and asked for Belgian military assistance. Lumumba and the national government interpreted this as an attempt by Belgium to retain control of the richest part of the country. On July 13, 1960, the Congolese government asked for UN assistance to expell the Belgians. The USA refused to participate, but did not block it in the Security Council, and a multi-national force headed by Ghana, went to the Congo. The UN occupied Leopoldville and prevented the Katangan secession, but failed to protect Lumumba from his political enemies.

The government collapsed and Lumumba was captured by Katangan authorities and executed, although his family reached safety in Nasser's Egypt. By the end of 1960, Joseph Mobutu, Lumumba's personal secretary and an army sergeant during the colonial period, took control of the Congo. Algerian Independence Algerian Independence by Jim Jones (Copyright 2013. All rights reserved) Go to the syllabus or the reading on French imperialism in West Africa or the World War II time line .. This article serves two purposes. At this point in the semester, we are learning about the process of decolonization in Africa. There were many different ways in which this occurred, but they can be grouped by colony according to the amount of violence that was involved and the extent to which Europeans living in the colony influenced the process. This article describes the process of decolonization in Algeria, a French colony that not only had a large European population, but one that was considered for a long time to be an integral part of its colonial power rather than just a colony. In addition, this article provides the historical background to the novel and movie Bab el Oued by Merzak Allouache.

Allouache is an Algerian filmmaker and his book is an adaptation of the screenplay for his film, which covers an episode in Algerian history in the late 1980s. By that time, armed resistance had begun against the successors to the government "won" independence. This article explains the most important concepts and symbols that were important to Algerian revolutionaries in the 1980s. GEOGRAPHY Algeria is located in northern Africa along the Mediterranean coast between Morocco and Tunisia. The Atlas Mountains divide it into two major regions: the coastal plain in the north, which covers about one tenth of the country, and the Sahara Desert in the south which covers the other nine tenths. All of the major towns are located along the coast including, from west to east, Oran, Algiers (the capital), Constantine and Annaba. South of the mountains, the largest towns are all oases like Ghardaia, El Meniaa (formerly called El Golea) and Tamanrasset. There are also some substantial towns in the oil-producing region like Hassi Messaoud. Nearly all of the country's agriculture takes place in the coastal plain, although there is some agriculture in the Saharan oases.

Algeria has extensive deposits of oil and natural gas along its eastern border and there are exploitable deposits of iron near Tindouf and coal along the Moroccan border near Oujda. THE PRECOLONIAL ERA Algeria's coast provides easily-defended harbors that served as the basis for port cities since the time of the Phoenicians in the first millennium BCE. Since then, Romans, Vandals, Ummayyids, Abbassids, and Fatimids all controlled the coast at different periods, and by the 1500s, the ports were brought under the nominal control of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman government was represented by officials in Oran and Algiers who received protection from Ottoman military garrisons. By the 19th century, Morocco became independent of Ottoman rule under its own sultan. The rest of the North African port cities were ruled by Ottoman deys who faced fairly constant opposition from Berber chiefs who controlled the inland regions. During the Napoleonic Wars, Algiers and the other cities of what the Europeans referred to as the "Barbary Coast" sheltered pirates who launched attacks against European ships.

One of the minor results of the Treaty of Vienna in 1815 was an agreement between the major European powers to punish the Barbary cities in an effort to stop piracy. The piracy stopped, but relations remained very tense. FRANCE IN ALGERIA After 1815, France maintained a consul in Algiers to negotiate trade agreements and insure that piracy did not resume (against French ships, at least). In 1830, the French king used a minor incident to justify an invasion of Algiers on July 5 which quickly captured the city but did nothing to reduce resistance by Berbers from the interior. France fought two wars against forces led by the Berber leader Abd al-Kader of Mascara (southeast of Oran) in 1832-4 and 1835-1837 without either side prevailing. During a third war with Abd al-Kader in 1840-1841, the French resorted to terror tactics, filling in desert wells and destroying farms. The Moroccan sultan allowed al-Kader to hide in Morocco, so the French invaded Morocco in 1844 where they captured al-Kader.

The Moroccan sultan, as the leader of an independent country, was angered by the invasion and other European powers supported his demands for compensation. In the end, the French signed the Treaty of Tangier on September 10, 1844 and recognized Moroccan independence. Six months later, the Convention of Lalla Maghnia (March 18, 1845) established a river called the Oued Kiss as the border between Morocco and Algeria along the Mediterranean Coast. The border was left undefined further inland, laying the basis for many further border disputes. Although Kader was defeated, Berber uprisings continued in central Algeria to the 1870s until the French occupied the oasis of El Golea (modern name: El Meniaa) in 1873. Resistance continued deeper in the desert, and resulted in the complete destruction of a railroad surveying mission (the Flatters Expedition) in 1880-1881. The last resistance ended in the desert in 1932, in the region of Mali north of Timbuktu.

One byproduct was the creation of a system of fortified French posts in the interior, staffed by soldiers of the Foreign Legion, with their headquarters at Colomb Bechar (located west of Ghardaia). In the colonial period, government policy focused on encouraging French settlement in the Algerian coastal plain and, to a lesser extent, modernizing the Muslim population. French immigration was successful and by 1956, the French settlers represented roughly nine percent of Algeria's population. The rest was divided between Arabs (50%), Berbers (25-30%) and other groups (Khabylie, M'zab, etc: 10%). As late as 1960, the goal of French policy was to integrate Algeria into the French nation as a province just like Brittany, Corsica, Savoy, or Alsace. Question: Can you think of a similar situation in U.S. history? COMMENT After WWI, large numbers of Algerians (although still a small minority of the total population) received French citizenship for their service during the war.

During the late 1920s and into the Depression, Algeria remained calm and the main thing that brought it to world attention was a series of successful trips across the Sahara Desert by automobile. Internally, an Algerian nationalist movement developed under the leadership of Amir Khaled al-Kader, a descendant of Abdul al-Kader, but other leaders like Sheikh Ben Badis believed that Algerians had to accept French "guardianship" for the time being. Meanwhile, a significant population of Algerians migrated to France to find work. They became organized under the leadership of Messali Hadj, who founded L'Étoile Nord Africaine in 1926 to demand higher wages and support other worker interests. The French banned Hadj's group in 1937, but it reorganized as the Algerian People's Party (Parti du Peuple Algerien, PPA). During World War II, the French Third Republic was overthrown and its replacement, the Vichy government, proved very unpopular among Algerians, since it increased taxes to pay for the war effort and supported racial policies that favored people of French ancestry.

In Algeria, local hopes were raised by the Allied invasion of North Africa in 1942-1943, but dashed again when the Allies kept the existing Vichy military commanders in positions of authority. Meanwhile, the gradual expansion of French-owned farms in the coastal plain created grievances among Algerians who found themselves with less and less land, or in some cases forced to become hired workers for European land owners. Just like in Senegal (the shootings at Thiaroye -- view timeline ) there was a violent incident at the end of World War II which helped to create a widespread sense of grievance among Algerians. On May 8, 1945, the last day of the war in Europe, Algeria's population held public celebrations all over the country, but when a procession of Arabs and Berbers displayed the green-and-white flag of Abd al-Kader's 1840 uprising in the town of In Setif, French police tried to stop the march. Violence broke out and by the time it ended, over 100 Europeans had been killed in the surrounding region.

The violence spread to other regions, notably the coastal towns of Guelma and Bone, where two Algerians died, 50 were wounded and 66 settlers hospitalized. The French arrested thousands and summarily executed some at Guelma. The French claimed that a total of between 1,000 and 1,300 people were killed, while Algerian estimates were closer to 45,000. THE WAR FOR INDEPENDENCE, 1954-1961 The war for independence began as a rural uprising in the Aures Mountains (part of the Atlas range) southeast of Algiers in 1954. Shortly thereafter, a separate urban uprising began in Algiers. The revolts remained separate until August 20, 1956 when leaders met secretly near the Soummam River to form the Comittee National pour la Révolution Algeriènne. Although the French granted independence to Morococo and Tunisia in 1956, they treated the Algerian demands in much the same way that Abraham Lincoln reacted to the attack on Fort Sumter.

Believing that Algeria was not just a colony, but a region of France, the French government viewed the uprisings as acts of treason and responded with massive force to crush the rebellion. Question: What other reasons did the French have to quash the Algerian rebellion? COMMENT Since Algeria was an enormous territory and the French could not identify the revolutionaries among the local popilation, they tried to seal off the country in order to block arms shipments to the rebels from Tunisia and Morocco. The French army created a fortified "Morice Line" along each border and established martial law in Algiers. The main consequence of these tactics was to create a division within the rebel movement between the fighters within Algeria, called the ALN (for Armée de la Libèration Nationale), and the external representatives of the FLN (Front pour la Libèration Nationale) who maintained an office in Tunisia and established political alliances with other countries like Egypt. Question: In a struggle of this type, which faction, interior or exterior, would suffer the most casualties? Which would have the most power to influence the outcome?

COMMENT The French tactics ended the revolt by 1958, but they earned international condemnation for the use of torture and other violent acts, like the reprisal bombing of the village of Sakhiet in February 1958. Fear of international opinion plus pressure from oil companies convinced the French government to agree to peace negotiations. But there was still powerful support within France for retaining Algeria, and in particular, officers of the French army accused the civilian government (the Fourth Republic, founded after World War II in 1946) of abandoning Algeria. French settlers also accused the civilian government of weakness, while domestic and world critics condemned the government efforts as too repressive. As France public opinion became polarized, the government became paralyzed. Meanwhile, the Algerian rebels focused their attacks on moderate Algerians who offered to negotiate with the French. Eventually, there were no moderates left in either France or Algeria. In May 1958, soldiers of the FLN executed three French prisoners in retaliation for the French execution of three Algerians. The resulting outcry in France led members of the National Assembly to pass a vote of "no confidence" in the government.

When the leaders of the various political parties were unable to form a coalition to choose a new prime minister and cabinet, members of the National Assembly invited General Charles De Gaulle -- the hero of the French resistance during World War II -- to come out of retirement and form a new government. He agreed, but only after receiving a promise that the National Assembly would adopt a new constitution that increased the power of the French president. The new constitution became the basis for the Fifth Republic created in May 1958. De Gaulle's role in subsequent events was very controversial and many people felt misled. De Gaulle's prestige as both a WWII hero and the leader of the first post-war government meant that no one questioned him too closely before he took over. Most French citizens were simply relieved that the country did not split apart. Conservatives, including the settlers in Algeria, felt sure that an old soldier like De Gaulle would never yield control over Algerian territory. The new constitution had to be ratified by a vote in each of the colonies, but since Algeria was considered a part of France, its votes were counted as part of those cast in France. The French supported the new constitution by a large margin, so dissenting votes cast by Algerians had no effect.

One French colony did say no -- French Guinea -- and it became independent in 1958, setting the stage for the rest of France's African colonies to become independent in 1960. Question: In what ways did Guinea's "no" vote strengthen the supporters of independence in other colonies? COMMENT Once the constitution was approved, De Gaulle acted. He purged the army of disloyal commanders in fall 1958 and offered a peace plan to the Algerians based on 1956 legislation (the loi-cadre) which provided for the creation of local governments within the French Empire. The FLN refused to accept the peace plan, and instead formed a provisional government-in-exile in Cairo (September 1958). They also launched a terror campaign in France and began to target Muslim moderates in Algeria. The interior and exterior rebels remained divided by the Morice Line. As supplies ran short within Algeria, regional commanders began to fight among themselves, accusing each other of negotiating with (i.e. selling out to) the French.

The external rebel army based in Morocco and Tunisia became bigger than the internal army, and its generals became influential through their control over the National Council of the Algerian Revolution (CNRA), which directed the revolution from exile. LAST FRENCH OFFENSIVE AND EXHAUSTION After negotiations failed, the French launched the Challe offensive of 1959, using new tactics that relied on helicopters to pursue the rebels into their mountain hideouts. At the same time, the French tried to provide social reforms and services to win the "hearts and minds" of the Muslim Algerians, much like the United States tried to do in Vietnam a decade later. Much goodwill was lost, however, when the French resumed the systematic use of torture during interrogations and forced more than a million Algerians to leave their homes behind in order to clear civilians out of the main combat zones. The new offensive failed to defeat the rebellion, so in September 1959, De Gaulle gave in. He announced that France would accept a political solution to the war based on Algerian self-determination; i.e. Algerians could choose in a referendum whether or not to become independent.

Since there were no longer any moderate Muslims in a position to negotiate, independence was certain, and French settlers became outraged at what they considered to be a betrayal. Significant elements within the French military were also outraged, including General Massu, the highest military official in Algeria. When he criticized De Gaulle publicly, he was relieved of his command and called back to France. The French settlers started their own revolt in January 1960, before the peace plan went into effect. De Gaulle rallied French public opinion with a televised speech that accused the French settler-rebels of prolonging a "100 Years War" that hurt France's international reputation by continuing the stories of military atrocities. In response to De Gaulle's speech, 121 French celebrities signed a public statement that urged French soldiers to disobey their officers in Algeria and support independence. Meanwhile, during the next nine months more than a dozen French African colonies declared their independence. Back in Algeria, the situation remained tense. Two of the generals who opposed De Gaulle's settlement, Salan and Jouhard, retired and returned to Algeria as private citizens, where they established contact with anti-Gaullist French settlers.

The French rebels organized demonstrations which led to riots during De Gaulle's visit to Algeria on December 9, 1960. Algerian Muslims displayed FLN flags at their own demonstration on 11 December, until French settlers fired into the crowds. A referendum on the future relationship between France and Algeria was held in January 1961 and immediate independence won by a vote of 5,993,754 to 16,478. Once the rebellious French settlers realized that De Gaulle intended to honor the referendum and yield control to the FLN, they formed the Organisation Armée Secrète (OAS, Secret Armed Organization). Operating on the premise that "if we can't have it, no one can," they matched FLN terror with their own. They assassinated or drove into hiding all of the remaining moderate Muslims, took control of the cities of Oran and Algiers, and began detonating bombs in France itself. The OAS activities poisoned an already bad situation, and created bitterness that prevented France and Algeria from establishing normal diplomatic relations for years after independence. The French finally withdrew in June 1962 and Algeria declared its independence on 5 July 1962.

France and Algeria had no diplomatic relations until 1965, and it took ten more years before a French head-of-state, Valerie Giscard-d'Estaing, visited Algeria in 1975. Jacques Chirac became the second French president to visit Algeria, on March 2, 2003.

Question: Tunisia gained independence from which European country in 1956?
Answer: France